Old Habits Die Hard
by l0verboy
Summary: Ash and Gary share a secret that is protected by the old habits. Every moment shared is a gift which they want to protect and old habits die hard. My first english Palletshipping full of fluff. Could continue.


_**A/N:**_Okay so here we go. This is my _first fanfiction that is completely written in english._ As you might already realize, I am not native speaker of the language so there might be some embarrassing mistakes, please forgive me. Don't be too harsh to the poor girl from Finland who tried her best! Anyways, to the text! Palletshipping is very old but in my opinion the best shipping there is from Pokémon. I love the rivalry and the UST between Ash and Gary and since I have loved the shipping for so long, I decided finally to write something about it. My boys deserve all the attention they could get and lately I have been worried about that is my precious ship sinking! I hope not and to be sure I wrote this. I hope somebody will actually read it and maybe even get the same joy from it that I had while writing it. _Reviews would be lovely_ but I don't set my hopes too high. _In the story_,_ Ash and Gary are slightly older than in the anime, around 16 or something, but I wanted to keep Misty and Brock around since they are one of my favorite characters. This is mainly all fluffy fluff sugared romance thing, but if there are a lot of readers or reviews, it might be that this will evolve to a story with multiply chapters! So please read and review, thank you for your attention._

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own and do not claim the world of Pokémon or the characters. The lyrics of the beginning belong to Snow Patrol.**

Love, l0verboy.

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_Old Habits Die Hard_

_If I lay here_  
_If I just lay here_  
_Would you lie with me_  
_And just forget the world_  
_Forget what we're told_  
_Before we get too old_  
_Show me a garden that's bursting into life_

_All that I am_  
_All that I ever was_  
_Is here in your perfect eyes_  
_They're all I can see_  
_I don't know where_  
_Confused about how as well_  
_I just know that these things_  
_Will never change for us at all_

Ash stared the empty ceiling above him. The night was quiet and still and the only things he could hear were the sounds of the ticking clock and Pikachu's quiet breathing. He was anxious and eager, filled with thoughts and dreams which made him feel fuzzy and warm. Tomorrow would be the first day of the tournament. Very first day to battle with his Pokémon and above all, the very first day in month that he would be able to meet Gary Oak. The smile automatically reached his face.

He and Gary were like volcano and tornado. So different and erratic. Capable of causing chaos and destruction. But they needed each other. That was the thing that made those two opposites so similar. Together they were complete. Ash laughed ironically. It had always been like that. Only thing that was changed was the result of their encounters. Year ago meeting Gary meant fighting, insulting and bickering over stupid things. Now it meant small kisses, deep breaths and nights full of secret touches. A lot had changed and a lot had stayed the same but Ash was more than happy to the current situation where he had his own dirty little secret. Secret called Gary Oak.

Of course things could be even better. If Ash would live in ideal world, his mom, friends and even his enemies would know the truth underneath those bruises on his pale-skinned neck. Truth about the nights when he disappeared all of the sudden. Truth about him.

But the world wasn't ideal. Not perfect or flawless. Ash rose from the bed. The floor under his bare feet felt cold as he walked through the quiet room. He arrived to the empty corridor and double-checked that there weren't any curious pair of eyes. He listened the quiet snoring of Brock from the room next to his, ensured that Misty was already sleeping in her own room and continued his secret journey. Gary had promised to come after midnight. Of course he had reserved a room to himself from the same hotel as Ash, Misty and Brock. It was the hotel where all the participants would be staying during the tournament. The only secret was that Misty and Brock among all the others were waiting him to arrive tomorrow. They had no clue about those couple of calls Ash had made from the Pokémon Center or the reason why their friend had been all dreamy and absent for the whole day.

"Nervousness"

It has been his most common answer of this day. He had pulled on his best poker face and pretended it was all about upcoming tournament. But it was not. It was far more important than that. Before the guilt of lying to his best friends reached Ash's mind he was already in front of the certain door. Room 207 had it's door slightly open and suddenly Ash felt his heart beating almost violently against his chest. Every cell of his body was so eager to see him. To see the brown hair and those narrow sharp eyes he loved so much. Touch the pale skin of the perfect body and drop light kisses everywhere he could. Ash checked once more that he was alone before he quietly opened the wooden door.

Gary was sitting on the narrow bed in the other side of the room. The gentle moonlight from the small window painted shadows to the boys face and Ash had to memorize how to breathe. It was Gary, his Gary and he didn't even remember how much he had missed him. Gary's face lit up to the grin that was so usual to him.

"Well hello there, Ashy-boy. You are up quite late, aren't you?" Gary teased across the room.

Ash smiled widely and closed the door behind him. Only three small steps and he were in front of Gary. So close that he could smell his scent, see the bright green eyes and feel the warm breath on his skin. He leaned even closer and pressed his lips against others, wiping away the notorious grin from the boy's face. Gary's hand appeared to his neck, thin fingers ran through his hair making Ash feeling dizzy. The strange warmth reached him all over. Like it had been missing for too long. It radiated everywhere to his longing body and made him feel so alive. He deepened the kiss, slipped his tongue carefully to the warm mouth. For the moment everything was perfect in this world. The world was ideal despite the fact that this all was secret, despite all the lies he had to tell to feel all this. It didn't matter. Not right now when he was here in the darkness with the one he loved.

When they finally parted Ash couldn't help feeling a bit empty. It was silly and stupid but Ash wouldn't mind kissing Gary till his lips were all sore and chapped. Those were one of those weird things Gary made him feel. He felt Gary's hand still in his neck, keeping possessive grip of his hair. Boy's green eyes were hungry and full of the same longing Ash knew he had also in his own.

"You know I would so take you right here and right now if there weren't hundred of sleeping trainers in the same floor." Gary whispered and pressed a gentle kiss to Ash's lips. Ash couldn't help chuckling to his lovers comment as he pushed him gently to the bed.

For the moment they just laid in the narrow bed, Ash's ear pressed against Gary's chest, listening the beating heart. World was still and Ash wanted so badly time to stop. Gary's arm laid around him comforting. Ash didn't want to think about anything else but this moment. Not the betrayal and the hiding he had done for almost an year now. Not the feeling of guilt he would have tomorrow while facing his friends. Not the bad efforts of acting the same old rivalry with Gary. This wasn't the ideal world and he had to deal with it.

"What's bothering, honey? Why so quiet?"

It was like Gary would have read his mind. Ash sighed. Sometimes he hated the fact that Gary really knew him best.

"Hiding. I hate to hide this. Us. Everything. I hate to hide something that is so important to me, from everyone I hold close. I mean they deserve to know and still I can't yet bring myself to tell them. Because I am afraid, Gary.. and I hate it." Ash blurted the words out to the darkness.

Gary's breathing paused for awhile as the boy weighted Ash's words. The seconds felt like hours and Ash was scared that he had just said something too terrible to bear.

"But does it really matter, Ash? Does it matter what they think? Will you just walk away from me if they don't approve this or say it is wrong?" Gary muttered and Ash knew exactly the frustrated expression the other boy had on his face at this moment.

Ash raised his head so he could see Gary's face in the darkness. Gary was right. It didn't matter. Not really. Of course he loved his friends. Of course he would have loved to live in the ideal world where there would be no problems or judgments. But the world wasn't perfect and he would have to live with that. With Gary he could.

"No it doesn't and no I wouldn't. I just hope that one day we wouldn't have to be secret. Because I am proud to have the biggest jerk in town as my boyfriend" Ash laughed lightly and felt instantly Gary's playful poke between his ribs.

"Oh! I'm the best boyfriend there is!" Gary protested laughing.

"I know, I know" Ash admitted in to the darkness, completely honest.

For the moment the silence was the only sound around them. Gary pulled the thin blanket around them. Old habits did die hard and Ash knew it. It wouldn't be easy tell everyone but someday he would do it. Now hiding was easier and he was satisfied with that.

"Gary.. wake me up before sunrise, okay?" Ash whispered and closed his eyes, listening the steady heartbeat under his head. Gary sighed. Ash knew that he hated how Ash had to leave so early every time. But if they wanted to keep their secret world it was the only way and Gary knew it too.

"Someday we tell em', right Ashy?" Gary muttered, half-asleep.

"Yeah, someday" Ash replied and took a deep breath.

He couldn't wait for that day. The day that he could woke up in the noon to the warmth of his boyfriend's perfect body pressed to him. That he could take Gary to dinner at his home and introduce him as his boyfriend not his rival. But until then he had to live with those old habits that protected them. Until then he would be satisfied for the secret nights and the strong arms wrapped around his body. When Ash finally fell asleep his world was ideal and perfectly still.


End file.
